winter foods

does your diet change much with the seasons? it's so easy to forget that food is seasonal, in our world of fast transportation and quick consumption. it seems like, regardless of season, most fruits and vegetables are readily available. 

me? i'm a little picky. there are certainly things i will only buy in the summer - fresh berries, peaches, pears... we always eat lots of fruits and veggies, but i'm far more prone to reach for squash, apples, potatoes, yams and cabbage in the winter. in the summer we eat more leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes and fruits. 

i don't do this on purpose. although i always make the effort to buy what i can local and organic, i don't shy away from eating imported foods. it just seems like my body craves these things, and reacts to the tastes and smells of these things differently, depending on the season. for example, a large salad is a perfect dinner in the summer, but if i ate that now, i'd still feel hungry, and end up making squash soup as well! 

anyway, this is all to say, apples are a fabulous winter food. so are nuts. so is muffin-style bread. is that what you'd call it? like banana bread... but with apples, and nuts! so basically, this recipe is amazing for winter. i like to make little treats for matt for when he gets home from school (yes, he's the most spoiled husband ever), and the other day i had this bread (still warm from the oven) and a beer waiting by his computer when he got home. lucky guy, eh?

recipe. make it now.

pumpkin spice overnight oats

merry christmas, friends!!

 
so, remember how i told you about my new favourite breakfast, overnight oats? well, i recently discovered an even better way to make them! 

pumpkin is pretty high on my list of favourite cold-weather foods, as evidenced here, here, here, and here. 

well, i've found yet another way to pumpkinify my life. 

lentil vegetable barley soup

matt doesn't think soup is a meal. 

we've been together more than 8 years now, and for the most part, i've been unable to change his mind on that. it's too bad, considering i love soup, and he doesn't cook. MUHAHAHA

*evil grin*

in MY opinion (and as the writer of the blog, it's my opinion that matters!!) this soup is fabulous. i made home made bread to stop matt from whining, but even without it, this is a hearty balanced meal!

i made this a while back, when it was just starting to get really cold. i was wearing my parka to the dog park for the first time all year. it was getting to be slow cooker season. i waited until now to share it because now it's PRIME slow cooker season, and how can you resist??? you clearly can't. 

banana bread pancakes

my mom never liked to cook when i was little (she's learning now, my sister and i are teaching her!) but we always had amazing breakfasts. pancakes are a family favourite, with real, fabulous, canadian maple syrup. mmmmm. our other favourite topping is peanut butter. not instead of syrup, but as well as. oh man. i know very few people who have tried this combination, but i'd highly recommend it. 

especially with these pancakes. 

peanut butter and banana - how can you go wrong? it's a winning combination regardless of delivery. 

this recipe makes a dozen pancakes. 

vegan pumpkin cheesecake

sooooo, remember how in my last post i said i had leftover pumpkin? well this is why! i was so excited and inspired by the vegan chocolate cheesecake recipe that i just had to try some other vegan cheesecake ideas! 

i have not been disappointed. this cake isn't super pumpkiny, nowhere near as much as pumpkin pie... it's smooth and creamy, with a nice hint of spice. 

i just bought a set of small cheesecake pans, and i baked this one in the middle sized one, which is 6" in diameter, so it's fairly small. 

i have to tell you, i eat a lot of tofu. i can't taste the tofu in this recipe, but i can't make that promise for you. i just made this recipe up in my head, and tried it out. i made adjustments as i went along, and was really happy with how it turned out. 

as with most of my dessert recipes, this isn't super sweet. 

pumpkin pie smoothie

 
i don't know about you, but i loooove pumpkin pie. 

i did a post about it on my 27th birthday. 

i know pumpkin pie is a thanksgiving sort of thing, but really i don't think you can ever go wrong with it. anyway, i made another really awesome pumpkin recipe (coming soon!!) and i had some leftover pumpkin in the fridge. i often have smoothies for breakfast, so i decided to try a pumpkin smoothie. 

it sounds weird, right? well trust me, it's delicious. matt liked it! it's creamy and smooth and a little spicy and a little sweet. just like pumpkin pie. 

so next time you have leftover pumpkin, give this a try!

creamy roasted vegetable soup

this time of year is all about soup. 

summer = salad

fall/winter = soup

that's just how the world works, folks. 

this soup is hearty and filling and such a fabulous way to finish off a chilly autumn afternoon. feel free to make substitutions, i just used my favourite vegetables, and what was handy. it's really hard to go wrong with roasted veggies, they are just SO GOOD.

inspiration!

hey friends! i just wanted to throw out some healthy breakfast inspiration! 

as you can see by all the fresh berries, this photo was taken a while ago... but underneath that pile of fruit, is a generous helping of my tasty overnight oats! 

i made them with a half teaspoon of cocoa powder and a  half teaspoon of powdered vanilla (liquid would work too). what a perfect breakfast for a busy fall day!

beef barley stew

boy oh boy, it's getting to be stew time of year, isn't it? 

i bought some barley a while back. it's not something i normally cook with, but i have always loved it in soups and stews, and what is better than branching out and trying new ingredients?

after i bought it, i was thinking of what to make. i don't know if i've ever actually had "beef barley stew" (if so i'd have been very young, before i became vegetarian) but i googled it, and found a few recipes. of course, i didn't follow any of them, and just ended up doing what i wanted. 

matt thinks this stew was a little heavy on the barley. i think it was just right. try it out and see for yourself! you can always substitute more veggies or another grain for some of the barley!

DIY christmas

 
i have been working on christmas presents since late august. i know, i'm kind of nuts... 

it's always a challenge to come up with fun christmas ideas for our families. we're all at that point in our lives where we don't really NEED anything... if we need, or even want something very badly, we buy it. (or make it or etc. matt and i are not big consumers...)

so, what do you give as a christmas gift to people who have everything? i always try to make hand-made gifts. it's also important to me that they be practical things that people will actually use. 

i can't tell you what i'm making everyone this year until after christmas (i don't want to ruin any surprises!!) but in the spirit of the season, here are some christmas ideas that i've posted in the past, to help inspire you this year!

harem pants!

hoodies!

picture and button magnets!

christmas (or whatever) cards!

feather earrings!

a little bag for makeup of a first aid kit!

cocoa butter body lotion, or extra-moisturizing lotion!

and not tutorials, but my christmas gift posts from last year - part 1, part 2!

happy holidays, friends!

vegan pastry

you guys, homemade pastry!!!!!!!1

oh man. i think i have mentioned before that i have always been terrified of pastry. i have no idea why. i throw shit in a bowl and beautiful bread comes out, but pastry has me in the fetal position on the kitchen floor. 

i have conquered my fear. i was inspired by this crazy OLD school cook book that i bought at value village in calgary. i mention calgary because the book was published sometime in the mid-80's by the big carrot - i used to shop there all the time when i live in toronto, which is the OPPOSITE SIDE of this giant country. it was crazy and nostalgic and inspiring to find this book. 

anyway, it has a vegan pastry recipe in it. it's not perfect, it doesn't make quite enough dough, and ended up a little dry. anyway, i tweaked it, and this is what i came up with. 

roasted red pepper hummus

god, i love hummus SO MUCH. it's one of those things that i almost always have in the house. 

it's good for snacking! sandwiches! dipping veggies, nori, crackers... making wraps! sometimes i even eat it straight up, with a spoon. 

if you have a food processor (and if you don't, go get one - i'll wait) hummus is super easy to make. it honestly takes about 10 minutes. traditionally, you'd use tahini in hummus... but i'm not a big fan of tahini, and i've never found that it impacts the taste at all, so i don't bother. 

for this recipe i used canned roasted red peppers - they were on sale at costco... but you can always roast your own!

overnight oats

i have been reading about overnight oats on food blogs for a while now, but for some reason hadn't tried them until recently. 

holy crapoley, they are SO GOOD. they are different than i expected, and better. i feel like they retain their shape better than cooked oats, and they are thick without being gummy or sticky. 

one of the reasons i don't eat oats as much as i should is that (to be honest with you guys) i am a really lazy morning person. i work from home, but i set my alarm for half an hour before i work, then lay in bed cuddling my dogs and matt until 15 minutes before i work. at that point all i have time for is to throw some coffee on. with these quick, easy oats, i just throw them in a bowl with some fruit, easy peasy. 

this has been my go-to recipe for the last little while. it makes about 1 cup of cereal, which is lots to go with some fruit!

vegan chocolate cheesecake

so, do you remember how i said a while ago that i don't like cheesecake? it turns out i may have lied to you. see, the thing i don't like about cheesecake is the cream cheese. i know, i know, that's like the whole POINT of cheesecake. 

BUT, i have found something better. it's healthy(er)! it's vegan! it's rich! it's creamy! it's ever so tasty! it's TOFU!!! 

honestly, i was skeptical. you can find the inspiration recipe here. sunrise soya is a canadian company, that makes the lovely dessert tofu that i recently raved about. since i love their tofu so much, and i WANT to love cheesecake so badly (but without getting sick, and preferably without all of the morally questionable practices that go into making cheese), i couldn't NOT try it. 

i made the crust myself, but you can certainly buy one of those pre-made chocolate or graham cracker crusts. all the recipes i found for graham crusts used sugar, but i just skipped that, and i think it turned out great. i also have to take a moment to tell you that this was literally the FIRST ever time i have made a crumb crust, and it was SO EASY. i was scared, it looks complicated and like you need SKILLS. not so. just try it, friends. 

also, like most desserts i like, matt says the cake could use to be sweeter. so i made him some super agave-y strawberry syrup for his to shut him up. i thought it was fabulous. it's like dark chocolate - it's NOT super sweet, but it's rich and filling and honestly i can't eat more than a small slice. 

i know this is a really wordy intro, but i have one more important thing to say! if you are interested in such a thing, the filling (uncooked) was amazingly tasty on it's own. it was thick and creamy and like a really nice chocolate mousse, or even icing. and since it's vegan, there are no uncooked eggs or anything to potentially make you sick! if i am ever in need of a mousse or icing recipe, this is what i'm using!

cherry peach tarts

i really love these tarts! 

i didn't take pictures of the process because matt had the camera that day, but i promise you it's easy as pie (easy as tarts?) i made these a while back, when the weather was still quite warm. this summer was amazing for peaches, and i was eating them any way i could. 

by now you probably know my philosophy on desserts - i love fruit and chocolate and peanut butter and other theoretically desserty things, but i can't handle them to sweet. as per usual, matt said this could use to be sweeter, and as usual i told him to go drizzle it in maple syrup. hahaha. i thought they were perfect!

this recipe makes 5 tarts, which i know is a weird number, but i just wanted them for a few folks after dinner one night, and i didn't want a stack of tarts hanging around for a week after. tarts are one of those things that tends to lose it's charm as moisture sets in. regardless, feel free to double or triple the recipe. 

*note* the tart shells i used were vegan - i know not all are, so double check if you care!

basic stir fry

i'm calling this basic stir-fry, but don't let that fool you. it's not PLAIN, or BLAND, it's just an easy, simple, quick recipe that is really great to use as a base for many other ideas you may have. add more soy sauce. use different types of broth. throw different spices into the mix, etc. 

i made it this time with PC fake chicken breasts (which are not gluten free)... but there are lots of gluten free options - tofu, gluten free TVP, even REAL MEAT (gasp!). 

you can also certainly substitute different bases - switch the vermicelli out for rice, wheat or rice noodles, udon, etc. 

this recipe makes 2 very large servings (or 1 matt serving and 2 harmony servings ;)

italian bread

happy hallowe'en!

it's the time of year when it starts to get chilly again. it's time for squash soup, oatmeal, apple crisp, and a fabulous new bread recipe!

i really love this recipe - it may be one of my new favourites. this time of year is all about comfort food, and this bread fits the bill. eat it with butter and a big bowl of soup! make a delightful sandwich! 

dilly vegan mac and cheese

so the other day, at matt's request, i made my tasty vegan macaroni and cheese with dill. 

matt really loves dill, and so i chopped up about 1/2 c of fresh dill, and added it right at the end. it was SOOOO good!!

blueberry banana bread

if you're looking for a straight-up butter, sugar, eggs type of banana bread recipe, click here. you can add a cup of blueberries to that recipe, and end up with a fantastic blueberry banana bread.

but, if you're interested in a vegan, somewhat healthier option, read on!

i used that original banana bread recipe as my inspiration, but as you'll see, i made a ton of changes. i wanted to make it vegan, and thought i'd experiment with my new favourite thing in the world, silken tofu. i had read about substituting it for eggs, and figured it would work in place of butter, too. given the way it turned out, i'd say that it certainly does. 

i made some other substitutions as well - some whole wheat flour, agave syrup for sugar, etc. 

this recipe makes one large loaf of banana bread.

silken tofu

so, i have made a fabulous (re?)discovery. i feel like i have known about flavoured silken tofu forever, and for some reason i thought i didn't like it. silly, silly me. 

i am kind of in love with this tumblr right now - i'm really inspired by her fabulous healthy food ideas, not to mention her amazing (and way-better-than-mine) photography.

coconut silken tofu with banana

so anyway, on this lovely blog, she has featured soft tofu desserts a few times, and when i saw them, my mouth watered. i actually went to the grocery store right away to buy some. holy crapoley, they are so good. i don't know what i've been thinking, missing out on these for so many years. 

the company that makes them, sunrise soya, is canadian, so i'm not sure if you can buy them outside of canana, but if you can, i'd recommend it! they are sold as "dessert", but i have been eating them with fruit and granola for breakfast, or as a quick yogurt-like snack. since i'm 90% vegan these days, they have really filled a void that yogurt left in my life. i have even used them in smoothies, and was very happy with the results!

banana silken tofu with homemade granola, berries and almond milk!

they come in these easy little 2-packs that snap apart, so you can throw them in your lunch, easy peasy. 

sunrise soya also makes these little snacks called super squeezies, which are similar to those yogurt tubes you can buy, but vegan, tofu based. they come in chocolate and strawberry banana, and they are both really good. thus far my favourite ways to eat them are either frozen, like a freezie: 

 or squeezed out into a bowl like you'd eat pudding or yogurt, with fruit. 

 

vegetable and tofu pot pie

this recipe is SO GOOD. 

i'm not including the recipe for the crust, because i still want to experiment with it a bit more... i am quite terrified of pastry, and this experience has only made me sure that it's scary. once i perfect the pastry recipe, i'll share it with you. until then, use your own recipe, or buy a pie crust. 

pot pie is not beautiful, but it's hearty and filling and i can't wait to make these in the winter. i think they would also look really nice done in individual ramekins for a fancier presentation.  

apricot blueberry muffins

the other day, i made this recipe with apricots and blueberries instead of peaches and raspberries. i also made them in my tall, skinny muffin cups, and they turned out looking like penises. WIN.

snacky snack

nomnomnom!!

black bean quinoa vegan loaf

so, i recently, through this wonderful tumblr, discovered this wonderful tool!

i am in love. this is the only recipe i have tried (and i'm not going to lie, i didn't follow it exactly), but it was really good! on top of being tasty, this just bangs out easy, healthy meal ideas with whatever you have onhand. am i being overly dramatic about the effect this will have on my life? heck no.

we tend to eat a lot of those vegetarian "meat" substitutes, which are really tasty and all, but tend to be fairly processed, and pretty expensive. this is providing me with some amazing alternate ideas.  you can use the mixes to make veggie burgers! falafel-style balls, the possibilities are endless!

my adaptation of the recipe follows! enjoy this with some mushroom onion gravy!

mushroom onion gravy

oh gravy! many meals just aren't the same without a generous helping of gravy! if not gravy, who will smother your potatoes? who will drown your french fries? who will top your tofurkey? 

this recipe makes a ton, about 4-5 c. i don't know about you, but gravy goes fast in my house... but halve the recipe if need be!

breakfast

normally in the summer, i have either my trusty daily smoothie, or some granola with fruit and almond milk for breakfast, but today, i was craving something different. 

i guess it just depends on the weather, but sometimes i want something a little heavier, a little more reminiscent of childhood, a little more comforting. 

i don't know about you, but i probably wouldn't have survived childhood without peanut butter. i still eat it out of the jar with a spoon when the mood takes me. 

so i whipped this up!

a thick slice of whole wheat bread, with natural peanut butter, banana and strawberries. how can you go wrong?

more fruity vodkaness!!

so, a while ago, i posted a fruity vodka cooler recipe!

i just made a very different, melony version, and i wanted to share it with you too! lookit my fabulously attractive, sexy husband, enjoying his drink!!

=
i used about 4 oz absolut apeach vodka, 1 c each cantaloupe and watermelon, 1 large apricot, 1 c ice and about 1 c of peach iced tea.

we had just gotten back from walking the dogs on a blisteringly hot day (yay for calgary having blisteringly hot days!!), and matt asked for a vodka cooler to take the edge off the heat. how could i say no? 

  
so tasty! go cool off, i'll wait. 

tofu and broccoli stir-fry

i make a LOT of stir-fry. it's quick and easy to pull together, and can be made with whatever ingredients i have onhand... 

as such, i don't often follow recipes when making stir-fry. it's just one of those things where i throw things together. but, in the name of the blog, and wanting to help others eat tasty, healthy foods, i am trying to remember to measure and take pictures, and write down recipes!

that being said, here is a quick list of what i often use when making stir-fry sauce. i encourage you to mix and match and try new combinations!!

- natural peanut butter
- soy sauce
- hoisin sauce
- sesame oil
- sesame seeds
- vegan oyster sauce
- garlic
- ginger
- vegetable broth
- miso
- mirin
- sambal olek or other hot sauce
- corn starch (as thickener)

this recipe is fairly quick and easy, although the longer you can marinate the tofu, the better. i always start mine in the morning, but as long as it marinates for an hour or so, you should be good to go!

new dress!

check out this lovely new dress i made!

yes, i also cut all my hair off! 

a friend was visiting a while ago, and bought a dress that was tiers of this material,each one ruffled and larger than the last. she wanted it shorter, so she cut off the bottom tier, and left it here. this is what i created out of it!!

peach raspberry muffins

can you tell i'm on the raspberry train this summer? i just can't get enough of them. 

i am also pretty excited about peaches. i love peaches so much, but they are only really good for a few months out of the year. i can't handle those winter, sad, hard, sour peaches. they just make me depressed. 

so, this summer, i have been keeping a steady supply of peaches in the house, enjoying them while i can, before another long, cold, peachless winter. i've been eating them in smoothies, tasty summer vodka drinks, on my morning granola, and just on their own. 

and now, muffins! this recipe makes 12!

raspberry vinaigrette

fresh berries are oh-so-fabulous. this has been a summer of berries for me. i pretty much constantly have a big tub of raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and cherries in my fridge. my morning smoothies have been even better than usual (if that's even possible). 

i don't know about you, but i seem to be less hungry when it's blistering hot out. i still want to eat, but i just want to eat fruit and raw veggies, quinoa, etc. light foods that aren't overly filling, but keep my energy up. 

so, we often end up eating a big salad for dinner. above is a "chicken" (PC fake chicken) salad. when making a salad a meal, it's nice to throw something extra on it. nuts, beans, sunflower seeds, etc. 

and vinaigrette is the prefect dressing for such a meal. it's quick and easy to prepare, healthy, and adds a wonderful burst of flavour to what can otherwise be a bland meal!

this recipe makes enough for 2 large salads.

vegan macaroni and cheese

so lately i have been eating MORE vegan - not fully vegan, but pretty close. as a vegetarian who is allergic to eggs and cow's milk, my diet is probably 85% vegan anyway. i cheat on my allergies sometimes (they are not the deathly type), and i eat goat cheese. i have been thinking a lot about veganism lately as well. i'll talk more about that later, but (as i'm sure you can see from my last post) my house is nowhere near cheese-free. 

matt loves cheese. he rarely eats meat (only when someone else cooks it for him, or if we go out for dinner, which happens about once a year), drinks soy and almond milk, he's happy as long as there is tasty food, meat or not. but, i think he would die without cheese. he LOVES cheese. that's fine with me, i can appreciate a good cheese, but in my never-ending quest for awareness about what goes into my body and the ethical treatment of animals, i have been making more and more vegan choices that happen to apply to him because he doesn't cook. 

let me just say, he RAVED about this recipe. he always seems a bit skeptical (but supportive) when i come out with some crazy idea like "vegan mac and cheese! no, i don't have a recipe, i'm winging it!", and this time was no different. he actually mentioned several times while we were eating, and a few times in the days after, how amazing it was. how the cheese sauce was just perfect.

my freaking meat-eating-cheese-loving boyfriend thought this shit was fabulous. 

and he's totally right. go make it!

(gluten free if made with gluten free macaroni! BAM!)

peanut butter cheesecake

i... don't like cheesecake. 

i know, i'm weird. i'm not big on processed cheese, nor am i particularly interested in desserts... i DO love peanut butter, and i DID taste the batter from this cake, and it was better than any other cheesecake batter i have tried. but still... cheesecake!

i'm not selling this very well, am i? shit.

so, matt REALLY loves cheesecake. many years ago, i worked at a call center for kraft foods. i really loved the job (mostly talking to old ladies about canning and how their grandkids never visit), but i am not a big fan of most of kraft's products. 

regardless, i ended up spending a lot of time looking at kraft recipes (you gotta know your product!!) and the cheesecakes always LOOKED and SOUNDED so good... so i started making them for matt! he loves them, and swears i make the best cheesecake ever. i have made them for other people, and always gotten similar feedback.

anyway, this was a shot-in-the-dark cheesecake that turned out amazingly. he wanted a treat. he wanted it to be peanut butter. i offered chocolate chips, he accepted. anyway, matt promises this is a fantastic cheesecake! 

a healthy snack!

here is a great summer snack matt and i enjoy. fresh fruit with whipped peanut butter for dipping!

to make peanut butter sauce, mix 2 T of smooth, natural peanut butter with 3 T room temperature water, and whisk to mix. it makes a lighter peanut butter, easier for dipping!